3-0 teams meet in Week 4 action

September 10, 2012

The battle of attrition (also known as Buckeye 8 play) gets going this week with two key contests on tap.

The high-flying St. Clairsville Red Devils will travel to Wintersville to face Indian Creek. Meanwhile, Harrison Central will entertain Martins Ferry.

All four teams finished their non-league schedules at 3-0.

Something will have to give when the Red Devils and Redskins meet at Kettlewell Stadium. St. Clairsville is averaging 49 points per game while Creek is right at 40.

Coach Andrew Connor's club put 41 on the board against previously unbeaten Oak Glen in Week 2. The Redskins also showed they're not bad on the defensive side of the ball.

They held the usually potent Golden Bears to just 161 yards (102 on the ground and 59 through the air) of total offense. Oak Glen had minus 16 yards on the ground in the first half and got an 82-yard touchdown jaunt from Cody Tropeck late in the game.

"I think the basic thing it comes down to is you have to play physical and play fast and we were able to do both," Connor said of his team's defensive play.

Creek's defense is allowing just 11 points per outing and 197 yards.

Running back Logan Woods had a huge night for the Redskins, collecting 94 yards on 13 trips and three touchdowns. He has scored five times through three weeks.

Justin Kropka, who coined the battle of attrition phrase, and his Harrison Central Huskies will be busy this week preparing for the Martins Ferry visit.

"You never know what you're going to be in Week 4 as compared to what you're going to be in Week 10," he said when asked about beginning league play. "We need to stay healthy and it'll come down to a depth issue. We'll get ready for Martins Ferry and see where the cards fall."

The Huskies got yet another impressive performance from senior tailback Maurtice Hython in blasting Caldwell 47-7. He showed speed, power and an impressive shiftiness en route to 231 yards on just 11 carries. Hython scored on runs of 73, 22 and 64.

Through three weeks, the all-Ohioan has 521 yards on 47 carries (an average of 11 per tote) and five touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Rashaen Mitchell also came up big, completing five of six attempts for 144 yards and three scores. Mitchell is completing 67 percent of his passes.

The Huskies are averaging 420 yards an outing and 32 points. The defense, led by Nick Pelegreen, Niko Williams and Cole Howes, is surrendering just seven tallies a game.

Homecoming:

The Weirton Madonna football team will host Fort Frye and homecoming at 7 p.m. Friday at the new Jimmy Carey Stadium.

The Blue Dons (1-1) had a bye last week after a 28-22 loss to Wheeling Central.

The Cadets stand at 2-1 after drilling Waterford 63-13 in Week 3. Fort Frye also whipped Belpre 45-20. The loss (the final was 38-13) came in the season opener.

It will be the final homecoming game for Madonna's four seniors - Quintin Hukill, James Fulciniti, Charlie Kotton and Garrett Hypes.

He grabbed 11 Brenton Colabella passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. The performance put Carapellotti in a tie for the most catches among receivers in the Daily Times/Herald Star coverage area. He now has 14 and shares the lead with fellow senior Zach Herrington.

Herrington hauled in five Colabella tosses for 96 and a score. A third Central senior, Kyle Laukert, shares the third spot with 10 catches for 196 yards and a team-leading four touchdowns. He's tied with Big Red's Matt Petrella. Laukert and Colabella hooked up seven times for 119 and a pair of six-pointers Saturday.

Colabella, obviously, leads the area in passing yardage with 822. He has thrown for 10 scores.

Licking their wounds: The Oak Glen Golden Bears have no time to regroup as they visit a much-improved John Marshall squad Friday night.

Yes, the Monarchs are 0-3, but they have not been blown out, unlike the past three years.

Oak Glen took one on the chin Friday night, a 41-9 home loss to Indian Creek.

"We lost on the offensive line," Golden Bears coach Ian Whittington said. "We were blown off the ball. We won on the offensive line in our last game, and they beat us off the ball in this game."

That is saying something because Oak Glen's offensive line is pretty good.

Busy guy:

Tom Giola did a little bit of everything for Buffalo Bishop Timon-St. Jude in Friday's 21-7 loss to Big Red.

The senior, listed as 5-9 and 225, started at linebacker for the Tigers and made several tackles. He also averaged 39 yards on four punts and handled all placekicking duties.

When starting quarterback Derick Simpson went down with an injury, Giola got the call. He completed his only pass for a touchdown and also recorded eight rushing yards on four attempts.

Finally, Giola was on the receiving end of a Simpson pass for five yards.

Iron man:

Indian Creek's Frank Kamarec apparently doesn't need much down time after a football game.

After grabbing two passes for 30 yards and a touchdown in Friday's 41-9 win over Oak Glen, the senior (oh by the way, he also plays defense for the Redskins) got up bright and early Saturday to compete in the Buckeye 8 Cross Country championships at Buckeye Local.

Kamarec finished the course in 17:42, good enough for second place overall. His performance helped Indian Creek capture the league championship. All five Redskin runners placed in the top 12. The Redskins edged St. Clairsville for the title. It was the first time in the history of the league that someone other than the Red Devils left with the trophy.

Marcus accounted for 264 yards of offense (he threw for 174 and ran for 90 more). The first-year starter hit on seven of 10 attempts for two scores. Just for good measure, he converted six extra points.

"We have big expectations of him," coach Mike McKenzie said of Marcus. "He can run. He can throw well."

Graziani carried the pigskin 25 times, recording 151 stripes and four touchdowns. He is the scoring leader in the Daily Times/Herald Star coverage area with 42 points.

Weir's William Larch didn't do badly either in the numbers department. He contributed 276 yards of offense for the Red Riders. He passed for 110 and amassed 166 on the ground. Larch also scored all three Weir touchdowns.